~ 184 ~  International Journal of Chemical Studies 2019; 7(1): 184-188                     P-ISSN: 2349–8528  E-ISSN: 2321–4902 IJCS 2019; 7(1): 184-188 © 2019 IJCS Received: 09-11-2018 Accepted: 13-12-2018   Gaurav N Chaudhari Department of Biotechnology and Crop Improvement, College of Horticulture, UHS Campus, GKVK post, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India B Fakrudin Professor and Head, Department of Biotechnology and Crop Improvement, College of Horticulture, UHS Campus, GKVK post, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India GK Ramegowda Regional Horticulture Research and Extension Centre (RHREC), UHS Campus, GKVK post, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India RK Ramachandra Department of Biotechnology and Crop Improvement, College of Horticulture, Mysuru, Karnataka, India Amruta S Bhat Department of Plant Pathology, Kittur Rani Channamma College of Horticulture (KRCCH) Arabhavi, Karnataka, India HB Lingaiah ICAR Emeritus Professor, Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture, UHS Campus, GKVK post, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India Correspondence B Fakrudin Professor and Head, Department of Biotechnology and Crop Improvement, College of Horticulture, UHS Campus, GKVK post, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India Genetic plasticity for yield and yield related traits in minicore accessions of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) Gaurav N Chaudhari, B Fakrudin, GK Ramegowda, RK Ramachandra, Amruta S Bhat and HB Lingaiah Abstract Genetic plasticity for yield and quality traits in 260 minicore accessions of tomato was studied in Augmented Block Design (ABD). The genetic variability parameters were estimated for component parameters of yield. Analysis of coefficient of variation revealed that the magnitude of phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits studied. High estimates of heritability and genetic gain were recorded for plant height, number of branches per plant, number of fruits per plant, number of locules per fruit, average fruit weight and total yield per plant. High level of variation was recorded for plant height (38.69 cm (Hisar Arun) (Sel-7) to 167.66 cm (VRT-101A)), number of primary branches per plant (4.08 (Fla -7421) to 11.11 (EC- 620374)), number of fruits per plant (11.26 (Roma) to 286.29 (EC-520078)), number of locules per fruit (2.15 (BL-1208) to 7.23 (DMT1)), average fruit weight (1.45 g (EC-526139) to 118.76 g (EC-528372)), days to 50 per cent flowering (19.75 (Pusa Ruby) to 36.71 (EC-620370)), total soluble solids (3.00B (WIR-13708) to 7.17B (EC-620514)), yield per plant (7.75 kg (Pusa Ruby) to 42.75 kg (EC-520074)) and test seed weight (166.77 mg (97/754 (Kewalo) to 8596.4 mg (NDT-1)). Results suggested that straight forward simple selection for plant height, number of branches per plant, number of fruits per plant, number of locules per fruit, average fruit weight, days to 50 per cent flowering, total soluble solids, test seed weight and total yield per plant may bring significant gains in identifying superior genotypes in tomato. Accessions with desired traits can be directly used in generation of segregation population and F1 hybrid development. Keywords: Variability, range, heritability, genetic gain, yield, tomato Introduction Tomato is an important, popular and widely grown vegetable in India as well as in the world. It is grown in all seasons and consumed in a variety of forms. It is considered as ‘protective food’ due to special nutritive value and antioxidant properties including presence of lycopene and flavonoids (Sepat et al., 2013) [18] . However, the production and productivity of this crop in India is far below compared to the global scenario. Biotic and abiotic stresses largely contributed to the lower productivity of tomato in India. Nonetheless, higher yielding hybrids, if not the varieties, are made available by both public and private sector organizations. Most of the hybrids belongs to superior segment. There is need to develop superior varieties / hybrids for different agro-ecological conditions with specific end user requirements. Genetic diversity provides an opportunity for developing improved varieties / hybrids having production centric traits such as yield, pest resistance, disease resistance, photosensitivity, biotic stress tolerance, etc., and consumer preferred quality and taste related traits. Natural genetic variability has served as base for crop improvement ever since systematic plant breeding was started by the human. Recent advancements in of agricultural and related disciplines have added new techniques to the tools box of plant breeding. These new tools require genetic variability for engineering desired changes in the genome. Availability of desired genetic variability for the target traits determines success and pace of conventional breeding programme (Ara et al., 2009) [2] . The efficiency of selection depends on the nature and extent of genetic variability, degree of transmissibility of desirable characters and on the actual expected genetic gain for the character in a population (Golani et al., 2007) [9] . Primarily, the genetic resources enable plant breeders to create novel gene/allele genotypes that more suited to the target situation and